Method of carrying out gas reactions in an electric furnace.



A. HELFENSTEIN.

METHOD OF CARRYING OUT GAS REACTIONS IN AN ELECTRIC FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 18. 1911.

1,169,817. f Patented Feb. 1, 1916 l I I 1 1 it To all witont it may concern vi'ces with more than 1000 kilowatts.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOIS HELFENSTEIN, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

METHOD or CARRYING our GAS REACTIONS miAN ELECTRIC summon.

' Be it known that 1, Aims HELrnNsTEnv, a

subject of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor,

and a resident of 50 Bastiengasse, Vienna, XVIII, Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Carrying Out Gas Reactions in an Electric Furnace, of which the fdllowin is a specification.

It is known to carry out gas-reactions at a high'temperature in the electric high tension flame, as it is the case with the known air combustion methods. The high tension flame-has only a limited applicability, as it allows" of producing reactions between gases only, it however does not allow of disposing of solid or liquid bodies in a simple manner, 'so that these bodies can participate in the reaction of the gases, be it as catalyzers or as chemically active substances. The high tension flame is further limited with regard to the load it may carry, so that it has hitherto not been considered advisable to load the dehightension flame furthermore requires special provisions for igniting and maintaining the flame, and also complicated devices for controlling the current, and lastly special measures for the safety of the operators.

' The low tension furnace, on the contrary,

v is far better adapted for carrying out gasreactions, as it shows none of these difliculties and may besides work with far greater energies per furnace. The low tension fur-,

nace has been proposed as resistance furnace for carrying out gas-reactions so for instance in the German Patent 148,457. Here a granular resistance charge is arranged between the fixed electrodes, and is heated to a high temperature on the current passing through it. The gases 'to be submitted to the reaction are sent through this granular resist ance charge.

c. The object ofthepresent invention is likewise to carry out gas-reactions in an electric low tension resistance furnace, but here contrary to the German Patent 148,457 a-fused or also granular material is arranged'as resistance charge betweenvertical (hanging) electrodes and the sole of the furnace which is preferably a conductor. The fused bath provided above the sole of the furnace will, namely admit of an accurate regulation of the vertical electrodes when also solid, granular materials are provided for contact- Spenzziiication of Letters Patent.

and the vertical electrodes.

The

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed NovembrlS, 1911. Serial No. 660,999.

ing or relation purposes between the bath Into this fused bath or into the granular material above the same the gases to-be brought to reaction are blown and will be heated by the electrically heated resistance bodies to such a temperature that the reaction will take place between the several gases or between the gases and the solid or molten components of'the resistance charge respectively.

For the gases to be introduced in the most simple manner into the highly heated reaction zone, they may .be sent into the fur- 1 nace through a bore in the vertical electrodes; or they may also be introduced throughthe soleof the furnace.

The fused or granular resistance charge .may b'e brought directly to reaction by their being electrically heated, and yield secondary products, .besides the gas-reactions proceeding on them; these secondary products I may then be drawn ofl' periodically. v 4

I When the fused or granular charges actively participate in the gas-reaction or when they yield secondary products the thereby consumed quantities are preferably replenished continuously around the electrodes.

InFigures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing a constructional form of the furnace.adapted for carrying out the present method is exemplified in a vertical longitudinal ,and a horizontal section respectively. 5 The gas or the mixture of gases is introduced' through pipe '1 into the vertically suspended feeder 2 for the electric current and thence conducted into the electrode 3, entering at the lower end of the latter into the molten bath 7 which has accumulated above the conductive sole 6. Above this bath is arranged the granular contacting or reaction charge 4, which may be replenished through thetubes'5 accordingly as 1t is consumed by the process. This charge surrounds the vertical electrode on all sides-and will therefore be always present in a suflicient quantity in the reaction chamber, so much the more as the movement of the vertical electrode, while it is being regulated, will greatly assist in inducing thechargeto settle down.' I

The gas or the gas mixture which has been introduced into the furnace will then be brought to reaction at the highly heated resistance charge and the gaseous or vaporous products will escape at the sides through the banks of the charge into the chamber 8 disposed at a lower level whence they pass,

preferably after condensing agents have ber 11.

As an example of a reaction to be carried out according to this method I shall now describe the combination of acetylene and nitrogen to prussic acid or cyanid of hy drogen.

Acetylene and nitrogen are introduced in equal volumetric quantities according to formula CH III+N =2HON CH through the vertical electrode into a slag bath heated to a high temperature by the passage of an electric current; the slag forming said bath consisting for instance of argillaceous earth on this slag bath floats animal coal or charcoal as a contacting material, in which the components are united in an undisturbed process. The product is on leaving the electric heat zonereceived by an alkaline condensing agent, as for instance milk of lime and proceeds to its further purification and recovery.

As another example of a reaction in which a granular material over the molten bath actively participates in the production of tetrachlorid of carbon the'introduction of charcoal, sulfur. and chlorin into an electrically heated mixture of charcoal and sulfur vapor arranged above a bath consisting preferably of a molten inert silicate slag may be cited, whereby'the chlorin, whichis interimistically bound to sulfur, will combine with carbon to tetrachlorid of carbon, while the sulfur is either absorbed in the slag bath or may be recovered in a vaporous state.

Asan exampleof a gas-reaction, in which .also the electric heating bath participates the combining of silicon with nitrogen to siliciureted nitrogen may be described. The bath here consists of molten quartz into which nitrogen is blown. Over the bath (quartz bath) is arranged a layer of carbon, which will effect the reduction of the quartz to silicon; the silicon thus produced will combine with the highly heated nitrogen to siliciureted nitrogen, which may be recov-.

ered as such or be further treated in the furnace.

gen is then blown, which will combine with the silicon and'form siliciureted nitrogen.

I claim:

1. The process of producing gas reactions at high temperatures in electric low tension furnaces consisting in blowing the gases to be brought to reaction into a molten bath, the molten bath being adapted to participate in the-reaction as a contacting agent and as a component of the reaction, and leading the highly heated gases and gaseous products ofthe reaction through solid granular materials above said bath, substantially as described.

2. The process of producing gas reactions at high temperatures in electric low tension furnaces consisting in blowing the gases to be brought to reaction into a molten slag bath, floating coal'on said bath as contacting material, uniting the components in an undisturbed. process, and finally recovering the products, substantially as described.

3. The process of producing gas reactions at high temperatures in electric low tension furnaces, consisting in blowing the gases to be. brought to reaction into a molten quartz bath, and in finally recovering the products, substantially as described.

4. The process of producing gas reactions at high temperatures in electric low tension furnaces, consisting in blowing nitrogen into a molten quartz bath blowing the gases to be brought to reaction into a bed of solidgranular materials above the molten bath serving as contacting agents and components of reaction, and effecting reactions of said granular material and finally recovering the products.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses .1

IGNEZ KUoRHLMARBLE, Aucusr Fuccnn. 

